Willie Blount

Willie Blount

Willie Blount (born April 18, 1768 in Bertie County , Province of North Carolina , † September 10, 1835 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American politician and fourth governor of Tennessee.

youth

Willie Blount was the younger half-brother of William Blount , the former governor of the so-called Southwest Territory , which then became the state of Tennessee. He studied law at Princeton and Columbia Universities .

Political rise

When the elder Blount became governor of the Southwest Territory in 1790, Willie became one of his brother's three private secretaries. After Tennessee was admitted to the United States as a new state in 1796, he became a judge. From 1807 to 1809 he was a member of the parliament of his state.

Governor of Tennessee

In 1809 he was elected fourth governor of Tennessee to succeed John Sevier . After two successful re-elections in 1811 and 1813, he remained in this office for a total of 6 years. One of his goals as governor was the settlement of the large country by white immigrants. He supported his friend Andrew Jackson with money and soldiers in his fight against the Creek Indians. During the War of 1812, he supported the federal government with $ 37,000 and 2,000 soldiers. After the end of his third term, he retired to Montgomery County .

According to him, Blount County and Blountsville , Alabama named.

Old age and death

In 1827 he ran again for governor, but was defeated by Sam Houston . In 1834 he was a delegate to a congress that revised the Tennessee Constitution. The new constitution gave the government and the governor greater powers. On September 10, 1835, the ex-governor died in Nashville.

literature

• Elizabeth H. Peeler: The Policies of Willie Blount as Governor of Tennessee, 1809-1815. In: Tennessee Historical Quarterly. Vol. 1, No. 4, 1942, pp. 309-327, JSTOR 42621721 .

Web links

• Willia Blount in the NGA
• The governors of Tennessee (English)
• Willie Blount in the database of Find a Grave (English)